Naruto: The Blood Between Heaven and Hell
by kyojitsu
Summary: Naruto may be a ninja, but he is also something more. Was Kyuubi the only entity sealed within this boy? Who are the enemies and who are his friends? The lines are blurred in this epic tale of a young man's story. Caught between demons and deities.
1. The Heart

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto. The original characters, techniques, and plotline belong to me. **

**Bold: Jutsus**

_Italic: Thoughts_

Underlined: Kyuubi

**Chapter 1: The Heart**

Night had fallen as Itachi looked into the eyes of the brutish thug who had leveled Kaikouri from behind with his club. His dexterous fingers formed seven hand seals.

"**Forbidden Technique: Blood Shrapnel Explosion**" he whispered.

Kaikouri watched as a small ball of red chakra left Itachi's mouth and entered the chest of the man. His eyes closed as the blood splattered across his face, leaving crimson lines criss-crossing his features.

"We have to leave immediately," he told Kaikouri as she pushed herself up off the ground. "It will only be moments before the Anbu arrive and I have no desire to end that many lives today."

Kaikouri stood and wiped the blood from Itachi's lips before smiling and pulling his head down to her level. "Do not ever perform a technique of the blood in front of me without proper authorization," She said as her nails dug into the back of his neck. "It is far too exciting."

She kissed his throat and raked her teeth against the deceptively soft flesh. "I will not take your words as commands, Twilighter. I am your master while the moon wanes," said a smiling Itachi as he swung her feather-light form over himself and onto the cart.

The cart, drawn by two deep roan horses, pulled away from the scene of the murder just as several Anbu arrived to witness both the mangled corpse and the cart's fading dust trail.

"We will have to alert the Tsuchikage about this," said the lion masked Anbu. "It looks like the work of a dangerous sadist." The other subordinate nins nodded in agreement without making a sound. Soon after, all four of them left the area with a speed that made them seem to disappear in a small explosion of underbrush.

Ancient eyes watched with little mirth.

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"BAAAAKAAAA!"

"What the hell do you want Sakura?", said a very sleepy Naruto.

_Wait! Sakura? In my room! _

Naruto was a blur as he pulled on his pants, but Sakura blushed as her trained eyes slowed the motion in her mind and she caught sight of his naked form.

_Ewwww! Naruto naked! _ She thought reflexively, but Inner Sakura had other ideas: _Oh, but I guess I didn't mind **that** much..._

Sakura's mind did backflips as she realized what she had just thought. Her blush increased as he looked at her caught between her confusion and reality.

"Are you alright Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto

"Of course I am you baka!" she retorted. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you look like you accidentally read a page out of Jiraiya's pervert books!" he shouted.

Sakura slapped him across the face and threw him out of bed with the immense medic-nin strength that Tsunade had been cultivating in her. Naruto got up looking slightly hurt. But recovered to his usual grinning self.

"Why are you here so early anyway?"

"Because it isn't early. It happens to be late. Do you even remember what day it is baka?" she said through gritted teeth.

"OH!" shouted Naruto. "Today is the Chuunin Exam! I totally forgot. Are you ok Sakura-chan?"

Sakura was looking at him with flames in her eyes and steam coming out of her ears.

"NO NARUTO! I AM NOT OK! DO NOT BE SUCH A FORGETFUL MORON! ALSO, STOP CALLING ME SAKURA-CHAN!"

Naruto let her blow of steam by chasing him around his room. When she finally stopped, he apologized for whatever he had done and they both left for the exam.

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AN: First... This is my first story… not just on but ever. I just felt it was time to write one after enjoying all the posted ones so much. I apologize for the extremely short chapter, but I intend to update every two days or so. Chapters will get longer as the story develops. I intend to have a large amount of original Jutsus, because I think there aren't enough of them. Please give me input on what you want to see happen.

(ie: pairings/plot/even Jutsus) I am a fan of NaruHina, but I'm open to anything.


	2. The Chuunin Exam: Part 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto. The original characters, techniques, and plotline belong to me. **

**Bold: Jutsus**

_Italic: Thoughts_

Underlined: Kyuubi

**Chapter 2: The Chuunin Exam Part I**

"What kept you Naruto? Do you have to fail at everything?' Sasuke said as Naruto and Sakura arrived.

_Why does he always say that sort of thing to me? Maybe he really doesn't like me. _Thought Naruto.

"I slept in Sasuke-teme. Get over it." Naruto told him.

Sakura watched the two boys bristle at each other's words. They just stood there glaring until Kakashi appeared to break up the staring contest.

"Oi! Naruto. Sasuke. It isn't time for that crap right now. You need to be focusing on the task at hand. The Chuunin Exam isn't nearly as easy as graduating from the Academy," He said. "I can't help you once you begin. You all have some advantages. The biggest will probably be the special training that we've been doing separately. Sakura, make use of the chakra enhanced strength that Tsunade has been teaching you since she returned. Naruto, I don't know what Jiraiya has been doing with you, but I assume he has some sort of plan that will be helpful. Sasuke, I've already shown you what you need to know to pass this exam. Are you all ready?"

"Hai!"

"Hai."

"Hai."

Kakashi disappeared as the three genin walked into the building where the first part of the test would commence.

FLASHBACK

"Naruto…" said Jiraiya. "You need to be in control of your chakra. You let your chakra form into the vaguest facsimile of what you need. Just because you can get away with it as a genin due to your tremendous chakra reserves does not mean it will fly when you go in for more challenging missions. I think the best way for you to learn chakra control would be a technique that your father the Yondaime created… Oh… damn."

Naruto was staring at Jiraiya with a very uncharacteristic blank stare. Not a smile or a frown or anything of the like passed Naruto's features as he spoke.

"My… father? I have a father? I… had… a father," he said.

Jiraiya understood the reaction that Naruto was having. He had never known anything about his family, and such a quick introduction to them was a tremendous shock.

"I apologize for no one having told you sooner. I imagine it would have been hard for you all these years without a lineage to call your own. I want you to know that your father… was a great man. He sacrificed his life to seal the demon Kyuubi inside of you. Shit… I've done it again," Jiraiya looked flustered at his second slip of the tongue. " The demon that attacked Konoha so long ago was not killed by the fourth Hokage. It was sealed within you by your father. In times of great emotion it will benefit you, but never allow it to coerce you into what you believe is wrong. It will always be a stigma for you, but do not view it negatively. It is an honor, though many will not see that. Along with the techniques that I teach you and the Advanced Bloodline that is your birthright, the Kyuubi will allow you to deal with what is coming."

Naruto looked like all the life had been drained from him. He slumped to the ground under the weight of all he had just been told. Jiraiya started to worry if Naruto would recover from the shock, but he was cut off before he could speak as a very improved Naruto shouted:

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN **WHAT IS COMING**!" he screeched.

"You will know soon enough," replied Jiraiya, covering his ears.

_Perhaps too soon_

END FLASHBACK

As the genin Team Seven walked into the building, there was an explosion of activity and shouting.

"What's going on," asked Sakura.

_It sounds like a fight_

The boys ran towards the sounds, leaving Sakura to catch up. They came upon two boys staring at a red-haired girl with a fiery look in her eyes. She stood a bit shorter than Sasuke and had shoulder length, blood red, hair. It almost seemed to move of it's own accord. The odd part was not how she looked but how everyone looked at her. The two boys, who were clearly older, looked at her with unconcealed fear.

"I told you not to touch me. You will be punished for the offense," the girl quietly said.

She made several hand seals that Naruto recognized, but ended with one he had never seen. As she finished her hair swirled around her and she named the technique.

"**Blood Release: Blood Fever Dementia"**

The locked gazes proved unfortunate for the two older boys as the girl's eyes glowed a deep red and theirs glazed over. Soon the boys were alternating between running blindly through the halls and collapsing to the ground screaming. Sasuke and Naruto tried to use the genjutsu release on the boys, but to their surprise it was not illusion that held them so helpless. The gril chuckled softly and introduced herself to Team Seven.

"I'm Kira. Don't worry about them. The effects will wear off soon. I didn't put a lot of chakra into the attack," she said.

_Who is this girl and what was that move?_ thought Sasuke.

"Glad to meet you! My name is Naruto and I'm going to be the Hokage someday!" said our favorite loudmouth. "What did you do to them?"

"Now that would be telling wouldn't it?" Kira replied. "You have an interesting aura Naruto. I hope we get a chance to fight during the tournament. Don't worry. I won't kill you."

With that slightly disturbing comment, Kira left them all dumbfounded.

"Woah"

"Agreed"

"Hmph"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura followed the route that Kira had taken farther into the building. They eventually found a group of genin and were about to start mingling when a voice boomed out of the room adjacent to the crowd.

"Come in and prove your worth," it said. "Very few of you will make it through even this first part of the exam. We will be testing your genjutsu resilience."

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AN: Sorry for the wait… Though honestly I want more of you to be waiting on me. :P I also have to apologize for not listing the techniques at the end of the first chapter. I'll do that here. Sooooo what did you think? Ask me questions and give me suggestions. Make me feel like a fool if you like. I need critiques, as this is the first story I've ever written.

Techniques:

**Forbidden Technique: Blood Shrapnel Explosion:**

A messy technique in which the user creates unbalanced, chaotic chakra and sends it into the bloodstream of the target. This causes the blood to run counter to the direction in which the heart is attempting to pump it. This ultimately results in the rupture and subsequent explosion of all the major arteries.

**Blood Release: Blood Fever Dementia:**

A technique that warms the blood in the target's brain. It causes blindness, disruption of thought processes, and immense pain. If the technique is not used only for a brief period, it will result in death.


	3. The Chuunin Exam: Part 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto. The original characters, techniques, and plotline belong to me. **

**Vyncent:** I won't be quitting this story till I'm done… I will be on vacation for a week in the Bahamas soon though… but don't leave, because I'll be back writing after that.

**whiterose03:** Much appreciated. I'll be updating often… I hate enjoyable stories that take forever to update.

**danjana: ** Don't worry. The bloodline will be one to remember.

**alliedoll: **It will be NaruHina. I agree… Sakura isn't as cute as Hinata.

**Aya-sama: **See above :)

**Thank you for reviewing!**

**Bold: Jutsus**

_Italic: Thoughts_

Underlined: Kyuubi

**Chapter 3: The Chuunin Exam Part 2**

The first section of the Chuunin Exam was set up so that each genin was cut off from the rest for examination. All of them would be required to see through and dispel several types of illusion in order to pass. Since it was a test for genin, the examiners would not be using their full strength, but they certainly were not going to give anyone an easy time of it.

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were all split up as they entered the exam chamber. Then it began:

Naruto was nervous because he had very little skill creating or defending against Genjutsu. He knew that Sakura and Sasuke would have an easy time of it. Sasuke had the Sharingan and Sakura had specialized in illusion, if only briefly.

"Hey kid. The name's Sarutobi Asuma and you're about to understand just how unlucky you are. Are you ready?" said the man.

"Bring it on," said Naruto.

Asuma made several hand signals and suddenly Naruto was no longer in the room but in a field. It stretched for miles and miles. There was nothing but dried grass and patches of mud… It looked like a battlefield.

"You can do NOTHING boy," said a deep voice that seemed to come from everywhere around Naruto. "Now the fun begins."

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"So how did you do, Naruto?" asked Sakura.

"I guess I won… I don't really remember," he replied.

"What do you mean, you don't know!" Sakura shrieked.

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"So the Uzumaki boy passed your test, Asuma?" asked Kurenai.

"Hmmph"

"Is someone cranky about FAILING?" she said.

"I just don't understand… I used a very powerful Genjutsu. It was the **Fear Magnifier Technique**. The one that shows me as the target's greatest fear. All the boy saw was me. When I dove into his mind to manually look for his fears… Then it all went wrong," said Asuma.

FLASHBACK

_Where ARE this boy's fears! I've been through so much of his mind, but I find nothing!_ Thought Asuma.

"Who do you think you are to be here?" boomed a voice. "I'll have your soul for this intrusion!"

Asuma was thrown from Naruto's mind with such speed and force that his whole technique was cancelled and his shock threw him back against the room's wall. Naruto seemed to wake as if from a deep sleep. Asuma looked at him with interest and just a bit of fear.

"Pass," said Asuma with a grunt. "I don't know if you deserve it, but you pass."

END FLASHBACK

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(AN: Hinata will be a bit out of character. She will be shy around Naruto and as self-conscious as always, but she won't show it as much in her speech. The most prominent example is that she won't stutter. I hate typing stuttering. It looks awkward. If anyone has a big problem let me know and if it IS viable, then I will change it back. Thanks.

"He tried to freak me out with a technique that shows me my greatest fear, but I guess I beat him because he gave up and decided to put me to seep instead. When I woke up he told me that I had passed," said Naruto.

"Well me and Sasuke passed without any trouble," boasted Sakura.

Before Naruto could get frustrated with Sakura's preening, he was interrupted by one of the other Genin at the exam. It was the shy blue haired one, Hyuuga Hinata.

"Hey Hinata-san. How did you do on the exam," asked Naruto. "My whole team passed!"

"Hello Naruto-kun. I passed along with Shino, but Kiba did not," said a blushing Hinata. "I think it will be ok, because they said another team lost two members to this test. They said the third would join us. I'm worried though, because I don't know who it is… Well, I have to go. Bye Sakura. Bye Naruto."

_She's kind of cute… Wait! What am I thinking? Oh well… Might as well try and talk to Sakura some more._ Thought Naruto

When Naruto turned around he found that Sakura wasn't even there. She had run off towards Sasuke. He was coming through the door into the room that held all of the Genin who passed the initial exam. He was about to run after her when he realized that everyone had gone quiet. He slowly turned around to see what they were all looking at, but everyone's face seemed to be pointing towards him. Suddenly he was part of the crowd watching himself be beaten and savaged by the mob. They were yelling and screaming and telling him that he didn't deserve to live. He saw himself strike out and hit one of the attackers with a kunai. It was Sakura. He yelled at himself to stop, but it was too late. The kunai stabbed her in the chest and blood spurted all over him. Just as the blade connected he was back in his body. All he could do was stare at the blood dripping from his hands while the crowd grew even more violent.

_What have I done!_ He thought. _I don't deserve to live._

_**MURDERER!**_

_**MONSTER!**_

_**YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE BORN.**_

_**DEMON CHILD!**_

"Don't listen to it kit… they aren't real. This is Genjutsu of a high order. That man has control of four of your senses. Close your eyes and plug your ears. I want you to think only about what you smell. Focus chakra into your nose and concentrate." whispered a crystal clear voice in Naruto's head.

Naruto, who had been desperately looking for something to stop the pain, listened and obeyed the voice. He did as he had been told. He smelled…

_What IS that smell? Its… Cigar smoke!_

With all his focus on his clear sense, Naruto's discovery that he smelled cigar smoke, and not blood as he should have, allowed him to break the Genjutsu with the release technique.

"KAI," Naruto yelled as the illusion faded and he saw only Asuma.

"Well… You did technically pass, but you were in it for a while. I suggest you work on that or you'll have trouble as a Chuunin," said the older ninja.

With that he left Naruto confused and elated at the same time.

_I passed! Hurray! What was that voice in my head?_

Naruto's question was met only by deep laughter…

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AN: So how did you like it? I never liked the first part of the Chuunin exam in the real storyline… Well I'm happy to have gotten five reviews. Keep them coming and the story will continue. Don't worry. I have lots of plans.

On that note… I'm curious if anyone would like to submit potential characters. No guarantee as to their being used, but if I do, then the creator will be fully credited.

Name:

Age:

Rank:

Origin:

On the same vein. I would love to hear some feedback on my original techniques. I would also love submissions of potential techniques to be used. They do not have to be specific to any character, but if you want them to be then there is a greater chance I will use them. Again… full credit to the creator.

Review please… Actually I've been wondering if anyone wants to flame me. I think it would be interesting. So… go ahead?

Thanks everyone.


	4. Author Note: Spring Break

**AN:** I'm Spring breaking in the Bahamas… I know it isn't a great excuse, but I can't pay attention to my writing. I promise you a chapter a day for the first week I get back, but that won't be for five or six days. I've started on chapter four though.

**Aya-sama:** I feel like the Rachikugen would be make fights far too one-sided for the story that I am writing, but perhaps a powered-down version or an accompanying curse of some kind would make it acceptable. I'm liking the Genjutsu-hidden clan idea though. Very promising.

**didygal:** Again… maybe too powerful for an initial teammate of Naruto's (or anyone of his age). I will definitely look for somewhere to fit her.

Thanks guys/girls. I really appreciate the encouragement. Don't stop reading just because I'm sipping pina coladas by the ocean… :)


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